My baptism was me going through a motion that was expected. I wasn't spiritually ready, that's for sure. I didn't feel or think any different afterwards. I just got tired of people asking me when.....because obviously if you are born-in and an elder's kid, you should be baptized by 13.

I thought I had baptized myself to "the God of Love", but the elders recently admonished me that my baptism is a lawful contract to an Organization. So..... I guess my baptism isn't what I thought it was, and consequently, doesn't mean anything.

I equate my baptism with a childish desire to find approval with man and deity. Now I could care what either think. Ergo my baptism was a child's game I really thought meant something but in the long run was just another rite of passage in this life. Unfortunately we were robbed of most others, bday's etc. It means no more than one of life's sillier moments.

Sorry to say, but my Catholic infant baptism is more valid to me, because I feel I was deceived about the Jehovah's Witness religion. I feel like a victim of bait and switch.

By the way, this was the 70s before the talk about "Organization ".

I was simply interested in end-time prophecy and I was given the impression JWs had "special knowledge" and had no clergy and everybody was equal. Instead, I found myself in a high-control group fending off users and being surrounded by phony judgmental people. It really does a number on your mind!

Bottom line: I would never have joined JWs if I knew the real nature of it all. Unfortunately, this took time to reveal itself.

Even though I am sorry about all the broken dreams and the few kind people I met, I could not continue in this charade.

I imagined that serving God was the
best thing to do and I also imagined that JWs had “the truth.” It was the required
ritual for joining the club...and so I did it.

I have always been essentially irreverent,
so I should have dived into the baptismal pool as was my notion at the time. I
just wish now that I had been more irreverent and skeptical. That’s the problem
with religion...it is no fun...people take idiotic beliefs seriously. I agree with Dawkins that people who hold
unsupportable religious dogma should be mocked for it...had I been mocked
for doing so; it would have saved me years of heartache.

GIM: for me my baptism is forgotten and
meaningless but this is not to condemn those who feel otherwise...we all
have our private myths and milestones.